Freshman admission to majors

Freshman applicants have three primary pathways to a major: pre-major, direct to major and direct to college. If you indicate a program that has a direct to major or direct to college pathway as your first-choice major, you will be automatically considered for that program. Your second academic area of interest is collected for information and academic advising purposes only and is not used for consideration into any direct entry program.

Pre-Major

Most students are given “pre-major” at the time of admission, including those who were not admitted direct to major or direct to college. The list below shows what may be requested on the application along with what is given in the offer letter if admitted.

Direct to Major

Some students are accepted directly to a major as a freshman. To be considered for direct to major admission, simply indicate your first choice major on the freshman admission application. If the major you selected has a direct to major program, you will be automatically considered.

Requested major

Major given if admitted Direct to Major

Major given if not admitted Direct to Major

business administration

business administration

pre-major

computer science

computer science

pre-sciences

The following majors participate in Direct to Major, however, notify students of their admission to the major after the offer of admission is made.

architecture

biochemistry

chemistry

composition (music)*

construction management

ethnomusicology (music)*

guitar (music)*

informatics

jazz studies (music)*

music

music education

neuroscience

orchestral instruments (music)*

organ (music)*

piano (music)*

strings (music)*

voice (music)*

*For most music majors an audition on your primary instrument is also required.

Tip: Don’t be discouraged if you’re not admitted directly to one of these programs as a freshman. The majority of students come in as pre-majors and gain admission to these programs after satisfying prerequisites and meeting departmental admission requirements. The only exception is computer science.

Direct to College

Direct to college applies only to applicants interested in the College of Engineering. You must select an engineering major on your UW freshman admission application to be considered. All admitted engineering students will be assigned “engineering undeclared” as their major at the time of admission and will be selected into specific engineering majors later.

Tip: If you are interested in engineering, be sure to select an engineering major (or “engineering undeclared”) as your first choice major on the freshman application.

Transfer admission to majors

There are three types of departmental admission policies. Admission to majors for transfer students depends largely on the program to which you are applying. Some UW programs require that you enroll at the UW before applying to the major, while others require a separate application in addition to the UW application. Use the MyMajor tool to determine what your major requires.

Open

These majors are open to you at the time of admission to the UW or any time thereafter.

Minimum requirements

These majors have set admission requirements, such as completing introductory courses with a cumulative GPA of 2.50. Majors in this category generally admit all applicants who meet the minimum requirements, without any further screening or selection.

Capacity-constrained

Majors with capacity-constrained admission have admission requirements and a selective screening process; they often have an application deadline and may require test scores, portfolios, auditions, letters of recommendation or interviews. Completion of the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission to capacity-constrained majors.

Departmental vs. university deadlines. Applicants to capacity-constrained majors should file a UW application and may need to file a separate application with the department. Regardless of the department’s deadlines, you must complete your UW application file by the appropriate deadline.

Tip: What will you do if your first-choice major doesn’t work out? We encourage you to explore and develop a plan to prepare for a second-choice major. (You may apply to more than one major as a transfer.) Use the personal statement to explain what you will do if you are not admitted to your first-choice major. This information will help Admissions staff understand your plans.